'Manohar Kahani' book review: A thrilling read that makes one revisit a time when chaos seemed enjoyable
Growing up watching Abbas Mastan’s movies was a great way to add some action to a calm weekend. A seemingly normal story often ended up having a conflict leading to several twists and turns with a tinge of comic relief. Reading Raghu Srinivasan’s Manohar Kahani makes one revisit a time when chaos seemed enjoyable. The Hindi title simply translates to a fascinating story, and it indeed is. Srinivasan, who is a serving officer in the Indian army, has served up a perfect medley of greed and schemes, topped with a garnish of resilience.
Bambi Mehta, a bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry finds himself transferred to the Konkan coast as a punishment for incorrectly predicting the crash of the Indian stock market. His partner Kalyani, who used to be a secretary in the Polish Embassy, accompanied him and together they decided to pursue their passions instead, leading them to leave their jobs. This is how Kokum Grove, a homestay, came into being.
Kalyani and Bambi were finally living the life they wished for A storm, however, comes knocking when a rich NRI from Africa wants to buy Kokum Grove. Bobby Chander, a man who knows how to bend the rules in his favour, continues to pester the couple even after Kalyani refused his offer. He starts mini projects to frustrate them into giving up the property. This forces Kalyani to seek help from her younger sister Maya, an expert in scheming.
As one thing leads to another, the Mehtas and Maya are able to trap the rich fish into its own net. Meanwhile, Maya finds a mentee in Kokil, Bobby’s stepdaughter who loathes him, and wants to arm-twist him into giving up his ploy to own the property.
It is a story that seems simple on the outset, but it made richer with varied components. Manohar Kahani has a strong foundation with clearly etched characters—a strong-willed entrepreneurial woman, her occultist absent-minded husband, their goody two shoes son, her resourceful and cunning sister, a wealthy obnoxious NRI guy and his stepdaughter, who is eager to revolt against him. There are also smaller, but equally intriguing side characters, who have been given interesting attributes.
The underlying message is that of how big financers take over businesses and other resources like land from unsuspecting people to then resell at inflated prices once an upcoming developmental project is finished. And it is brilliantly conveyed with a pinch of humour sprinkled throughout the intricate traps making this an even more thrilling read.
Manohar Kahani
By: Raghu Srinivasan
Publisher: Hachette
Pages: 208
Price: Rs 399